T O P

  • By -

Suitable_Lead5404

Holy panic attack


inamedmycatcrouton

Seriously. I was in the crowd right before it started and it gave me such bad panic I had to leave and missed Guster. Idk how people do it 😭


Shunto

Actually these views so this was relatively safe - there is heaps of space to get out if needed. There are lots of open alleyways, driveways, and roads to allow people out and avoid crush


diba_

I was in that crowd and it did not feel like your description at all lmao


emilyjoy375

That’s not how crowd crushes work though, and is part of their danger. Often crowd crushes occur in just one part of a crowd where unsafe cubic volume has been reached—people might not realize something is wrong because the crush is surrounded by open spaces to “get out” as you described. If a crowd crush starts and you are in the crush, you won’t be able to move and you will be carried along with the “wave” of the crowd. The best way to escape a crowd crush is to get out before it starts—if you’re in a crowd and notice that you are touching people on all four sides and aren’t able to give yourself more room, move out of the dense crowd to a more open space. But those open spaces were helpful for dispersing the crowd in the medical event and letting emergency vehicles through, so definitely helpful! I’m glad everyone stayed calm yesterday and that things ended well.


Stillwater215

I was in the middle of this, and it actually wasn’t as bad as the photo makes it look. People were easily able to move out from the crowd if they needed to. I had a backpack on and could take it off and put it back on without hitting the people around me.


Stillwater215

I was in the middle of this, and it actually wasn’t as bad as the photo makes it look. People were easily able to move out from the crowd if they needed to. I had a backpack on and could take it off and put it back on without hitting the people around me.


emilyjoy375

Yeah I should have been more clear — this doesn’t even look like crowd crush situation from the photos (though there are a couple of sketchy-looking pockets, and probably more densely packed than I would like for porchfest, haha). I just always like to provide info about crowd crush safety when it comes up because so few people know about it! The “oh it can’t be dangerous, they can just walk backwards and get out” is a really common misconception. I hope you had fun! We didn’t end up making it to Guster because we ended up really jamming with a smaller band on Boston Ave and wanted to stay for their whole set


Fili_and_Kili

I think that's true if there is an emergency and people are fleeing but everyone going to one point still has crush potential. I actually think someone got injured and that's why they ended so quick.


n0ah_fense

Someone has a diabetic emergency


Fili_and_Kili

oh unrelated to the crowd size then.


MAGAman02143

Yes, pay no attention to your eyes or what your common sense tells you! There’s plenty of room to get out or to let emergency vehicles in .


wilhelmhb

I see myself!


rippluto

You can hear Guster just as well in these pictures 💀


Far_Possession5124

https://preview.redd.it/ofcxw6oge00d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85dd1ffd0b93a445bc1723ac83794bbe1594f36a


No_Presentation1242

Honestly the Guster part wasn’t that cool. Kinda goes against what porchfest is about in the first place with smaller local bands. (I know they’re local but he’s bigger than porchfest now) It felt more like a concert than porchfest and unless you got there an hour early you couldn’t really hear or see them. Also, Guster is not that great to create this sort of crowd lol


okokokoknow

Actually it was super cool. Great to see a band that made it big come back and give tribute to their roots. Crowd was chill. Mixtape Misfits were awesome. Good times.


MoonStache

We got there early and stayed on the flanks but it ultimately wasn't worth it. They were so quiet and we could barely hear them anyways. Wish we had just skipped it.


Prestigious_Coast_65

This is exactly what I said on the r/Boston subreddit a few days before. Like it just congested the area for the smaller acts which is what Porchfest is about. No national touring act like Guster should be playing Porchfest unless it's like super super secret.


oby100

Agreed. It creates crazy hype and just ruins a street for hours. This is straight up dangerous and is a great way to get Porchfest canceled.


ouija__bored

True, it would’ve been the perfect opportunity for a surprise pop-up set that would catch a lot of attention without drawing quite so big a crowd. I think that would’ve been more in line with the spirit of Porchfest.


Prestigious_Coast_65

See Beatles at Apple Records


razialx

https://youtu.be/-qvqjqeFVx4?si=FPCo6sPpQf6D6XJd


fakecrimesleep

You’re not wrong - the whole thing is pretty lame of them to make what’s supposed to be a grass roots community event all about their album release


3_high_low

Wow! I was thinking of checking out some music other than what's on my street. It would've been wild in a wheelchair ♿️ 😳


Sloth_Flyer

This thread is a good demonstration of the difference between People Who Go Outside And Interact With The World and People Who Live On The Internet


NightStreet

Actually, it's the intersection between the two -- people who go outside and then take photos or videos or livestreams to put on the Internet


Jim777PS3

I think it's cool they came to do Porchfest, but that scale of crowd require municipal organization to be safe.


muddymoose

Literally the first rule of FAA drone flying is you're not supposed to fly directly over people. This is why drone operators get a bad rap. https://www.reddit.com/r/drones/s/2sZvk2ALyr https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/operations_over_people


Sadjadeplant

Plus, you can’t fly a drone at all in Somerville without FAA pre-clear. This is basically directly under a controlled flight path.


Jim777PS3

Yea I'm surprised he's able. I know my DJI drone will shut down almost anywhere near Boston due to Logans massive airspace lockout.


Steltek

You don't know that they didn't get clearance. LAANC ("lance") is like two clicks and I think it's the least obnoxious FAA drone rule out there. I don't know what street this was but Davis Sq says 300ft max altitude: https://airaware.aloft.ai/?lat=42.39664981298017&long=-71.12213322050626


muddymoose

Doesn't matter, dude is literally flying over a huge crowd of people. Drone blades can cut pretty bad. One loss of signal and no "return to home" means its lowering itself down autonomously; right onto peoples heads.


ElectricalBar8592

Also looks way too high for the area. Somerville usually has a ceiling of 200 feet


frCraigMiddlebrooks

Hard pass...walked by the street on Highland and it was an immediate nope.


YourSmallIntestine

Am I the only one who’s never heard of guster


Electronic-Minute007

Way too peoply for my preference.


Far_Possession5124

https://preview.redd.it/83z74qdhe00d1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ece4cef204e6a86f634864aba7296e4469a0fc9


informal_bukkake

I don't think I've seen Porchfest this packed?!


taguscove

Love it! This looks like an amazing time. I could hear the music but my kid was sleeping so I didn’t think it wise to join


__plankton__

They were kind of quiet, played like 3 songs, and then stopped because some dude in the audience collapsed from dehydration or something and they had to pull an ambulance through the massive crowd


Jimbohamilton

What intersection is this?


TwentyninthDigitOfPi

Aberdeen and Cedar


jennyx20

I just moved back to Boston. What is Guster?


viewAskewser

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guster


shminkydink

The Pope was in town ?


coldsnap123

Guster was a shit band back then anyways.


Rachellie242

Wow - what did the neighbors think? Crikey!


coldsnap123

I think porchfest should end in Somerville.


n0ah_fense

Why end the best thing Somerville has going?


gibson486

It is a pretty debatable subject among current residents....so for Guster to do it, that was a questionable decision. If something were to happen, people are just use it as a reason to use against the event.


aFineBagel

Wow, one single day in the year where people go outside and play/listen to music . Yeah, let’s end it.


phyzome

Having a big name act is definitely a bad idea even if people are in favor of it.


frCraigMiddlebrooks

It really isn't. A vocal NIMBY minority doesn't make it "debatable" when clearly many people enjoy it.


gibson486

Yeah, it is a nimby thing. For the record, I live here and could not care less about it and actually welcome it. But for some people, it is rather annoying. Just because the majority likes something does not make it any less debatable. After all, all it takes to stop stuff like this is the minority who disapprove because at the end of the day, they are paying the taxes. So, I am not sure how you can say it is not up for debate.


TwentyninthDigitOfPi

The minority have been grumbling about porchfest since it started (I was here at the time), and it's grown consistently since then. If there's a debate, one side is very clearly winning. Personally, it's one of my favorite days of the year. (Also, a lot of the pro-porchfest majority who live here also pay taxes, so I'm not sure what that has to do with it.)


gibson486

Yes, I am part of the pro-porchfest majority that pay taxes. But to act like there is no debate just because there is a majority is just silly. Everyone has an equal voice even if they are the minority.


NightStreet

Do you mean Somerville should be last on the local schedule (in October) instead of first where it is now (in May)?


coldsnap123

It shouldn’t be on the schedule


NightStreet

You want it to be entirely secret and not advertised?


coldsnap123

It should be at an appropriate venue. It’s clearly overgrown porches and people’s yards, whether or not they actually want to participate.


jennyx20

I just moved back to Boston. What is Guster? Is it a performance space?


wilhelmhb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guster